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Metadata

Author/Creator

Date

2008

Type of Work

16 p.Textjournal articlesresearch articles

Department

Anthropology

Program

Bachelor's Degree

Rights

Collection may be protected under Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Law. To obtain information or permission to publish or reproduce, please contact the Goucher Special Collections & Archives at 410-337-6347 or email archives@goucher.edu.

Subjects

Abstract

Although I myself am puzzled as to how my relatively sheltered, thoroughly middle-class, suburban upbringing fostered a passion for urban culture, I am nonetheless intrigued by all aspects of street life. My scholarly interest in urban culture began last year when I chose to study aerosol art (graffiti) for my International Scholars Program research project. I analyzed how aerosol art was used a device of postcolonialism— how, in New York City’s subways in the 1970s and 80s, these largely oppressed, lower-class minority youth used their available resources to develop a sense of voice, empowerment, and influence. I quickly became entrenched in the concept of the street, whether in terms of ritual and religion, systems of power, or relationship to mainstream American society. This paper was created for George Baca’s fall 2007 “Anthropology 234: Religion, Myth, and Symbol” class.